From the highs and the lows, knitting, crocheting, living, cooking, life in the slow lane.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Voicing Hamilton revisited

Yesterday I had my third class at the library and it was fantastic. I'm
absolutely rediscovering the enjoyment of learning and attending school
that I had forgotten how much I loved. But I also absolutely
appreciate and love not being harassed by ignorant/petty/bigoted
students who parroted their parent's views on metis children.

The morning was spent listening to a short lecture by Daniel and then
interacting with the author of one of the textbooks we received at the beginning of the class. I
finally appreciate poetry in a way I never did as a teenage student. I
also figured out why my appreciation has changed, experience, maturity.
It's amazing how your mind suddenly finds relations and understanding
where in the past, poetry was just words that didn't make a whole lot of
sense and defied explanation as to their usefulness.

Once again, an amazing delicious lunch was served. I did not catch who had organized it, but kudos to them. It was appreciated and enjoyed by all.

The afternoon lab was spent in small groups reviewing the book of poetry and images and figuring out what each person saw in a lot of the poems and photographs. So much insight, so many ideas and interpretations and it was fantastic that everyone got to contribute to the sharing.

This reminds me of how different this teaching approach is to what I remember higher education being like 30 years ago. I love the interaction between teacher and student. The teacher is not so much a "teacher" as popularly defined but more of an elder sharing their life experiences, the influences that shaped their knowledge and allowing us to peek into their past. I also love the fact that we are all respected as individuals and that each of us have experiences worth sharing relating to what we are studying.

We also got a chance to discuss what our end of class presentation will include. In the group I was a part of, one of the students will be doing a series of paintings comparing several public buildings in Hamilton then and now and their final destination in the 200 years that have ensued since their beginning. A couple of students in the study group will be doing a photographic presentation, but unfortunately did not catch as to the subject of these presentations. I love the selection of various medias that everyone will be using for their end projects. These will showcase Hamilton at it's best and at it's worse both current and historically.